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March 31st, 2009UncategorizedIt's safe to say that the world's oldest profession would still exist even if Craigslist didn't. Yet Chicago sheriff Thomas Dart seems to think Craigslist plays a crucial role in enabling prostitution. This week, he filed an attention-grabbing lawsuit against the site, accusing it of creating a public nuisance by facilitating prostitution via erotic services ads. -
March 30th, 2009Uncategorized
People who hope to immigrate to Canada or extend their stay are being asked to sign a document allowing Ottawa to share their information with any foreign country, immigration experts say."It's an abuse of power," said Guidy Mamann, a Toronto immigration lawyer, who argues that sharing information with foreign governments could put potential immigrants at risk.
It means other countries will be able to learn about the finances, employment, places of residence and relationships of both the immigrants and the Canadians who sponsor them to live in this country, he said.
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March 25th, 2009Uncategorized
James Green was not amused when his 15-year-old daughter Bernice started getting text messages from neighbourhood boys at 10:30 at night.
There they were, popping up on his cellphone.
The Sulphur, La., salesman had installed RADAR on Bernice's cellphone; the software lets parents monitor everything that goes in and out of their teens' phones, including texts and photos.
“It is the most immaculate thing in the world. She knows I can see everything she does, which kind of puts some responsibility in her court,” said the father of four, sheepishly admitting he lied to Bernice, initially telling her the technology was merely a GPS insert.
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March 23rd, 2009Uncategorized
Applicants' personal information to be released to foreign governments
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and his officials at Citizenship and Immigration Canada are making a mockery of Canada’s privacy laws by forcing foreign nationals, and possibly permanent residents, to agree to the release of their personal information to any and all foreign governments.
Last week, immigration lawyers discovered that the form used by foreign nationals for an extension of their stay in Canada (Form IMM1249) contains some new and disturbing language.
The new form readily acknowledges that by virtue of Canada’s Privacy Act “individuals have the right to protection of and access to their personal information.” Nonetheless, the form declares that the applicant’s personal information may be shared not only with the CBSA, the RCMP and CSIS but also with any “foreign governments.”
The applicant is required to agree that they are “not obliged to consent” to the release of the information, but they must acknowledge that “failure to do so will mean that the request will not be processed.”
This seems to be a violation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which states that an officer “shall” extend the status of a foreign national in Canada if the officer feels that the applicant continues to meet the requirements for temporary status here. There is no requirement found in IRPA for the consent that is now being demanded. In any event, since this “consent” cannot be refused, it can hardly be called a “consent” at all.March 22nd, 2009UncategorizedCardiff University staff have reprimanded a student after finding offensive remarks about a lecturer on his Facebook page.
This is the first formal disciplinary that a Cardiff University student has faced from a Facebook comment.
Following this, all students from the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies (JOMEC) have been warned that they could face disciplinary action if the University finds offensive comments on social networking sites or blogs.
A second-year Journalism student wrote an offensive comment about his lecturer, Dr Claire Wardle, and posted it as his Facebook status on December 21 2008, but he was unaware that the University could access his account and discipline him for the remark.
Due to this, Gill Branston, theJOMEC Director of Undergraduate Studies, and Justin Lewis, Head of School, sent an email on February 5 to all JOMEC students warning them that “any statement you publish may be legally actionable.”
The email said: “Be aware that anything you post (however innocently intended) on your own blog, web page or on Facebook or similar sites, may be seen as potentially defamatory or libellous, and as action likely to bring the University into disrepute.
“…You also remain subject to the University’s regulations covering acceptable standards of behaviour; IT facilities usage; harassment and bullying. In the event of a serious breach of these regulations, on Facebook or elsewhere, the University will not hesitate to take action…under the University’s Student Disciplinary Code.”
March 22nd, 2009UncategorizedEric Goldman uncovered another interesting lawsuit involving Yahoo. This one involves the organic search results showing spam results for a person’s name, where this person is suing Yahoo and Overture for “Lanham Act false endorsement and false designation of origin and violation of Wisconsin’s publicity rights staEric Goldman uncovered another interesting lawsuit involving Yahoo. This one involves the organic search results showing spam results for a person’s name, where this person is suing Yahoo and Overture for “Lanham Act false endorsement and false designation of origin and violation of Wisconsin’s publicity rights statute and common...March 22nd, 2009UncategorizedComparing it to blaming car makers for deadly car bombs, Google Earth chief John Hanke recently said Google shouldn’t be blamed for terrorist use of Google Earth. Hanke defended his online mapping tools in a recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. “You have cars; you have car bombComparing it to blaming car makers for deadly car bombs, Google Earth chief John Hanke recently said Google shouldn’t be blamed for terrorist use of Google Earth. Hanke defended his online mapping tools in a recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.March 21st, 2009UncategorizedThe ACLU has tested President Obama early, requesting dozens of secret documents covering the Bush administrations' justification for its spying and interrogation programs. If we could gleam even a bit of insight into the real excuses for the warrantless wiretapping and NSA eavesdropping, it could set a precedent for future government transparency.
- For years, the Bush administration refused to release them, citing national security, attorney-client privilege and the need to protect the government's deliberative process. The ACLU's request, however, comes after President Barack Obama last week rescinded a 2001 Justice Department memo that gave agencies broad legal cover to reject public disclosure requests.
Obama also urged agencies to be more transparent when deciding what documents to release under the Freedom of Information Act. ... "The president has made a very visible and clear commitment to transparency," said Jameel Jaffer, the director of the ACLU's National Security Project. "We're eager to see that put into practice." The collection of memos, written by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, are viewed as the missing puzzle pieces that could help explain the Bush administration's antiterrorism policies. Critics of the prior administration also see the release of the documents as necessary to determine whether former administration officials should be held accountable for legal opinions that justified various antiterrorism measures, including the use of waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning.
March 20th, 2009UncategorizedSince it launched a couple days ago there have been several predictable responses from persistent Google critics who regard the new location-aware Latitude service on Google Maps as a threat to privacy. The phrases “tracking,” “stalking” and “Big Brother” popped up in a range of articles in mainstreaSince it launched a couple days ago there have been several predictable responses from persistent Google critics who regard the new location-aware Latitude service on Google Maps as a threat to privacy. The phrases “tracking,” “stalking” and “Big Brother” popped up in a range of articles in mainstream news outlets....March 19th, 2009UncategorizedWas settling in to relax a bit on the couch last night, after a long day of blog posts, tweets and friending, when, in my nightly channel surf, I came across Charlie Rose interviewing this guy who screamed Silicon Valley: boyish good looks, a J. Crew-style sweatshirt, and graying hair that hadn't been combed since he got out of bed or since he got out of the shower. Turned out it was Chris DeWolfe of MySpace, who, with his even more boyish co-founder, Tom Anderson, was being interviewed by Rose.